Your favorite professional baseball player steps to the plate. The first pitch whizzes by, but the home plate umpire says nothing. From a speaker comes a voice or a sound indicating whether the pitch was a ball or strike, determined not by the ump, but by a computer.
MLB has been floating ...

Some general observations while celebrating that spring has finally sprung:
High school sports head down the home stretch in furious fashion. It’s a crazy time of year, heading toward their playoffs and the end of school; but also the most fun — good weather and contests that matter. And ...

My niece finished her college softball career this week, marking the milestone with a post on Facebook that said how much she’d miss the sport she had played for sixteen years.
I thought I’d read that wrong ... she’s 21, but started playing organized athletics at the age of five. ...

May is National Bike Month!
It’s finally starting to feel like spring, and that means shedding some layers, breaking out the sunglasses and dusting off the bicycle.
As cyclists trade their indoor trainers for outdoor trails and roads, we’re already seeing packs of cyclists enjoying the ...

There are certain bucket-list sporting events that transcend mere athletics. They are spectacles, cultural sensations, feasts for the senses: events like the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby and the Masters.
Carl Michael Jr., golf course superintendent at Down River Golf Club in Everett, made ...

Some observations while wondering why the April showers are still coming in the form of snowflakes …
n The Pittsburgh Pirates have put together some unique experiences giving young players the chance to play ball at PNC Park. Youth teams and high school squads sell tickets to Pirate games ...

The first day of spring was exactly three weeks ago, but it still feels like winter on the athletic fields of central Pennsylvania.
With cancelations of everything from junior high sports to Major League Baseball, it has seemed at times like spring will never truly arrive. This is just one ...

The Monster Cup field heads to Texas after a week off, with Kevin Harvick looking for his fourth win of the season. Harvick has been a headline-maker, posting four top-five finishes through the month of March, but stands in just seventh place overall.
The stage format for races, instituted ...

I love the NCAA basketball tournament. From the crazy upsets to the crazy fans, the Big Dance is one of the big joys of American sports.
Everyone can participate — and everyone does. From morning show hosts, to past presidents, everyone shares their brackets; even preschoolers and puppies ...

As we prepare for a mid-month roar from the proverbial lion that doesn’t want to go quietly, the overlapping winter and spring sports seasons are as crazy as the month of March itself.
n What a thrill to watch the NCAA wrestling finals over the weekend. Bo Nickal’s amazing move from his ...

This year is a special year for Pennsylvania outdoor lovers.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the formation of the commonwealth’s first state park, as well as the law that led to the creation of the state forest system.
At a recent regional retreat hosted by the 501-c3 ...

Walking into the North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex is a lot like walking into the Pirates training camp in Bradenton, Florida.
Meticulously-manicured softball diamonds, eight in all, are buzzing with activity, as ninety Division II and D-III teams converge on the Diamond Dreams ...

It was 1:30 when my alarm clock went off Saturday morning. I wasn’t getting up for a trip to the airport or even the hospital, but rather for the ultimate date with my favorite Winter Olympic sport.
Curling.
For years (every four years to be exact) I’ve watched this relatively obscure ...

Some of my favorite stories of the Winter Olympics have nothing to do with gold, silver or bronze, but rather courage, friendship and sportsmanship; and many of them find us rooting for athletes not necessarily wearing red, white and blue.
n Pita Taufatofua of Tonga carried his country’s ...

Some general observations while enjoying a sports-filled February…
Blue Knob has become a Winter Wonderland under new management this season, marked by improved facilities, more consistent hours and a new tubing location in the works.
The highest skiable mountain in Pennsylvania is a ...

As New Years’ resolutions begin to fade from our mind, there is one that I think is worth some re-commitment. It’s the concept that our attitude dictates our happiness, and, in fact makes an impact on those around us as well.
It’s not a new idea. Rev. Norman Vincent Peale first ...

We’ve been reading reports for years about the impact of sports on self-esteem, especially for girls. Participation in athletics has been shown to improve confidence, strength and the ability to overcome obstacles.
Knowing the positive impact sports can and should have on young people ...

Some January honors and observations while still mourning the end of the Steelers’ football season, as well as the end of the McCutchen baseball era in Pittsburgh.
n Penn State’s athletics program is among the best in the nation, according to the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings at ...

The Winter Olympic Games are growing closer by the day, and with them, the ongoing hope for peace through sport. Every two years the world pauses, taking a break from political grandstanding and chest-pounding for a few weeks of friendly contests in the arenas of summer or wintertime athletics. ...

The New Year rang its way in with unseasonably cold weather, but that did not stop Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation Friends Groups from celebrating 2018 with a series of First Day Hikes.
At Shawnee State Park in Schellsburg, the PPFF 2017 Park of the Year, dozens of people of all ...